


Par for the course

by Thedarkslayer



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/M, Gen, Implications of sexual abuse, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-05-18 09:44:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14850410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thedarkslayer/pseuds/Thedarkslayer
Summary: Cigarette, smoke, leather, and whiskey. It was definitely something that caught Negan's attention, it was hard to miss Faith Lehane sauntering around Alexandria. He wished she was that simple, but he'd soon find out that Faith has one HELL of a secret and all the communities could be in more danger than they ever knew. Vampires still have to eat and Evil still has to...evil...it's just another day in the life of a Slayer as far as Faith's concerned...right?





	1. My black eye casts no shadows

It was probably the leather pants that had first got his attention. He wished he could say it was something else but Negan could be a simple man and tight leather pants on a woman with an attitude like that definitely got his attention. She was an Alexandrian but that didn't stop her from actually looking happy to see him every time he showed up. The way she looked at him, she was **damn** lucky he didn't have time for all the things he wanted to do to her. 

When he DIDN'T see her this time he was a little surprised, he'd come to see Rick, but she was always a sight for sore eyes, "Where's Rick?" he asked immediately upon setting eyes on Carl who glared at him, making him smile just a bit. That kid had balls. 

"He's _busy_..." Carl said defensively. 

He was about to repeat his question when he realized he'd yet to see his little firecracker, "Where's...Where's _Faith_?" 

That's when Carl shifted a bit, Negan noted his change in demeanor, "She's....busy too." 

" _Carl_...Where's Faith?" he asked again narrowing his eyes, he started for the house she normally emerged from and Carl blocked his path. 

"Negan, really, now is a bad..." Carl started. 

"I said back off, Rick!" Faith's voice could be heard from the inside of the house before the front door opened and Rick was backing out with his hands up. 

"Ya really outta let someone check you over, you look like hell, Faith," Rick was saying but stopped dead just outside the door seeing Negan. 

"What's goin' on?" Negan narrowed his eyes a little moving toward the front door with Lucille clutched in his hand. 

"That's...a damn fine question," Rick muttered shaking his head a little but gestured towards the inside, "Yer guess is as good as mine, watch out fer the knife." 

"Stay here," Negan said sharply to The Saviors with him then pinned Rick with a look as well before pushing open the door. 

"Rick I thought I told you to fuck off," Faith said sharply, but she had a look of surprise on her face when it was Negan that entered and not Rick. 

"You look like shit," he said flatly. 

He certainly wasn't lying. Her face was bruised up, and her lip was split, her knuckles were bloody and swollen, and he could tell by the way she was breathing that she was in pain. She was a bit pale and her skin looked clammy. He sat down on the couch quirking an eyebrow. 

"What the hell happened?" he demanded. 

"I got in a fight, they lost," she told him simply. 

He let Lucille rest against the couch before reaching out to grab her chin, she winced a little and started to pull back,"Do I look like a little bitch to you?" 

She was a bit taken aback and she frowned, "I...what?" normally she might have screwed with him a little and said yes, but he looked very serious and her face hurt. 

"Do I _look_ like a little **bitch** to you?" he repeated, "Because I don't care what _bullshit_ you feed Rick, but when I ask you a damned question, I want an actual answer and not some vague shit." 

She froze his hand still gripped her chin, very carefully she put her hand over his and pulled his hand away before gripping her jaw and with a pained groan and a jerk she popped her jaw back into place and Negan's eyebrows shot up. 

"Look I wandered out, because I couldn't sleep, ran into three dudes who thought I wouldn't kick their ass, and spoiler alert, they were wrong, they're dead now, it's done and I'll be fine, it's not as bad as it looks," she told him. _Spoiler Alert, Must have spent too much time around Andrew._

"You just popped your jaw back in place," Negan said flatly, "A man, punched you hard enough to knock your jaw out of place and it's no big deal...Not any of my men?" 

"Not any that I recognized at all," Faith shrugged. 

He was still watching her struggle with every breath and his shot out and he gripped her ribs. Instinctively she reacted to the pain and she punched him square in the mouth. Lucky she was able to pull it. His head snapped back and spit out blood. A smile formed on his face, "Your ribs are bruised or broken," he rubbed his jaw, "Goddamn you pack on HELL of a punch." 

He stared at her longer and she shifted uneasily, "Three men, you took down _three men,_ on your own?" He held up three fingers to clarify.

Faith simply nodded. The truth was much more unbelievable. She took out a nest of vampires that were looking to prey on the people here. It was far more than three. She looked DAMN good considering. This was why she'd stayed here though, she was protecting all of their settlements from the things that go bump in the night. There weren't many humans left, so those that preyed on humans would prowl around here. 

He was still eyeing her suspiciously, she was sure he didn't believe her. His gloved hand reached out and rested it on her shoulder, "You sure you're not coverin' for somebody, Faith? You KNOW I won't tolerate this kind of behavior from anyone, and I'd like to think Rick wouldn't either if I'm wrong about THAT, that's a conversation for another time." 

She slowly quirked her eyebrow, "Negan, man, I need you to look me dead in my eyes, and tell me if I look like the type of girl who'd let some asshole that beat the shit outta me just walk the fuck away..." She stared back at him, "If you think for one second, one inkling of a second, some dude can put his hands on me and live to tell the tale you've got me _all_ fucked up, I don't have any problems guttin' a motherfucker." 

"Well..." Negan grinned, "Alright then, so here's what you're gonna do, either one of your people looks over you, or one of mine will, we've got a doctor..." 

"Negan, you don't hear this often so, I'm gonna need you to hear me when I say this because I really mean it," she paused and he just stared at her, "No." 

"I wasn't asking Faith," his jaw tightened and the grip on her shoulder became a bit more firm. 

"Then I guess we got ourselves a bit of a problem," Faith replied. 

"Sweetheart, if I gotta pick you up and carry you out, I will," Negan said bluntly. 

"Oh I believe you'll try," she nodded, "Look, I've been patching up my own wounds since I was a little girl, you think just because a bunch of corpses decided they don't know how to be dead that that's gonna change? Naw man, I can still take care of my damned self no matter what else is going on."

Negan stared at her quietly for a bit, his jaw still tight. Something in him twitching a little when she said she'd been patching up her own wounds since she was a child. He squeezed her shoulder, he wasn't sure if it was comfort or sympathy or some sort of affection, but he drew his hand back immediately. 

"You don't have to do everything alone Faith, Rick...he ain't shit, and if you don't feel like anyone here can help you, you know where I'm at," Negan said firmly. 

Faith laughed softly and quirked a painful smile, "You got me all wrong big guy, but you'll figure that out sooner or later I guess." 

Negan raised an eyebrow and stared at her waiting for her to elaborate but the explanation never came. The half smile still rested on her face, "I appreciate the concern man, I really do, but I promise it's not necessary," she got to her feet and he rose with her still looking unconvinced but he relented a little. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms his neck in a hug and instinctively he returned the gesture with one arm. For a moment his gloved hand rested against the small of her back. 

"I'm gonna come back, and if you still look like shit when I come back, I'm taking you to _my_ doctor," he said flatly releasing her, as her arms fell from around him.


	2. Tensions Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Negan shows up to check on Faith and there's a lot of tension

He gave her a week before he came back to check on her again. Sending Simon to collect from Rick. Still, once again Faith wasn't with the others when they opened the gates to Alexandria. 

Rick wasn't sure HOW he felt about Negan's interest in Faith. He'd tried to address it with Faith a few times but she brushed him off. Faith tried to assure Rick that it wasn't a bad thing. It would be a good thing if she could have Negan wrapped around her finger, but the manner in which she said the words suggested to Rick that she knew in some ways that Negan wasn't that type of person. Rick felt like Negan was just waiting for a chance to blackmail her into marrying him. So when Negan asked about her he was MORE than tempted to tell Negan she wasn't here. One small lie, unfortunately, would lead to more lies he'd have to tell Negan about WHERE she went, so with much reluctance, Rick answered his query telling him as far as he knew she was home. Faith stayed with a few of the younger girls, a lot of them seemed to like her a lot. 

Negan _more_ than enjoyed the uncomfortable look Rick always had when he interacted with Faith. Rick knew one of these days she was going back to The Sanctuary with him. One of these days, she'd be one of his wives. It was only a matter of time. Rick was looking back at Negan moving towards Faith's house, even as Simon was trying to get his attention. Simon wouldn't tolerate that for long...as soon as the thought crossed Negan's mind he heard Simon bellow "HELLLlllooo, Rick I'm over here, Don't be rude." 

Negan chuckled softly as he rapped on Faith's door with Lucille. Silence. He waited for a moment and rapped on the door again and a petite blonde girl no more than 13 or 14 answered the door. Fear filled her blue eyes and she took and instinctively step back. 

"Um...you're um..." he snapped his fingers trying to recall the girl's name. 

"Ashley," she said quietly, "If you're looking for Faith she's upstairs..." 

Negan started walking in before she could finish the sentence, moving for the stairs as he'd gotten all the information he needed. 

"But she's..." the girl started to call after him but when he didn't stop she just sighed. 

Negan made his way to the top of the stairs and stopped in his tracks as the bathroom door opened and Faith emerged wrapped only in a towel. Immediately he dragged his eyes up and down her form, Faith quirked an almost amused half smile. 

"Still look like shit to you?" Faith teased completely unabashed as she strolled over to the top stair to greet him. 

"You look like someone I'm gonna fuck the SHIT out of," he said bluntly. 

Faith chuckled softly, "Yeah I bet you say that to all the girls, told you...I'd be just fuckin' fine," she rolled her eyes good-naturedly. 

He dipped his head and conceded, "A lot of them yeah, as long as they're kinda okay lookin' why not right? But god damn..." he licked his lips moving towards her as he set Lucille against the railing. 

If he was anyone else, Faith might have taken him up on the offer. If he was _anyone_ else, it certainly wasn't a lack of attraction that gave her pause. She'd heard all about him from Rick, Rick spared her no detail. She didn't have the heart to tell Rick he wasn't nearly as bad as some of the people she'd dealt with in the past. But still...it certainly wouldn't go over well with Rick, and she wouldn't admit it but he could be a little intimidating, obviously not physically because she could kick him right back down those damned stairs. There was something about his demeanor that sometimes was a little...much. 

He moved close enough to her to back her against the wall without touching her. Faith put a hand at the center of his chest and gently pushed him back. It wasn't much but just enough to let him know they weren't doing that. He wasn't mad at all just gave her an amused smirk and held up his hands, "Alright, Alright," he chuckled softly then reached behind her and flipped on the hall light to get a better look at her face. 

He gripped her jaw with his gloved hand, tilting her head from one side to the other. He couldn't help but marvel at the fact that there was no sign that her face had been damaged at all.

"Negan...I'm fine," she rolled her eyes, but swallow hard when his thumb traced her bottom lip where it had been split. For a second she stared up at him before she abruptly cleared her throat and lightly batted his hand away, "Cut that shit out," she muttered. 

It made it better and worse that Negan _knew_ she wanted him. He could see it in her eyes, he damned sure knew that look. He wasn't sure if it was loyalty to Rick or something else that held her back. She definitely didn't strike him as someone averse to casual sex, but there was _something_ holding her back, "Yeah yeah," he muttered, his hand instead toying with a strand of hair. 

"You're a pain in the ass you know that?" Faith snorted but fell silent as his fingers massaged her scalp now. For a second her eyes fell closed and she let out a small sigh, but her eyes shot back open. 

Negan couldn't help but chuckle as he found exactly what would make Faith turn to putty in his hands. Even as she swatted him away more fervently with her lips pursed, this time he stepped back and gave her more space with a wide amused grin on his face. 

"Pain in the ass," she repeated huffing indignantly. 

"You know what they say, All work and no play makes Faith a dull girl," he chuckled. 

She put her hand on her hips and raised an eyebrow, "Who the fuck says I haven't been playing? Maybe it's just not with you..." she told him as a matter of factly. 

He kept the easy smile on his face, "Faith...do you think I can't tell that it's been a while for you? I can see it on your face every time I touch you." 

"Negan....get the fuck out," there was a slight bit of laughter in her tone as she slowly shook her head but she was serious, "You see that I'm just fine, now go somewhere with your shit." 

"Tell me I'm wrong Faith," Negan smirked stepping back towards the stairs and retrieving Lucille once again. 

"Go..." Faith said shortly. 

Negan did turn and walk casually down the stairs, but smirked, "Yeah that's what I thought." 

She stared behind him as he strolled out the front door and Faith frustratedly rolled her neck. Ashley appeared in the stairwell along with a young dark skinned Indian girl named Shreya. Faith had rescued the two young girls from the Vamp Camp three weeks ago and the pair managed to keep that information to themselves. 

"You totally want to boink him," Ashley snorted now much bolder now that Negan was gone. 

"Shut the hell up, I'm not gonna 'boink' him," Faith snorted. 

"But you _want_ to," Shreya chimed in. 

Faith narrowed her eyes a little, "Hush you two, what I want...is for you to go over where you saw _her_ again, and then cover for me so I can see if I can find her myself, and bring her back." 

Ashley looked down now, a bit nervous. She hated recalling anything to do with the vampires, but Shreya nudged her lightly, "If we can help we will, she tried to help us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys let me know what you think, more to come!


	3. But wait, there's more...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faith finds what she's looking for, and WAY more than she bargained for and Negan is just plain pissed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and the love guys, I'm really having fun writing this story, my ability to summarize hasn't gotten any better I'm afraid. Anyway I hope you like this chapter I'm going to post a new one pretty soon, let me know what you think , it's not terribly long, but I'm already starting to work on the next chapter.

"Holy shit..." Xander's voice echoed through the holding cell as Faith was roughly tossed in with the rest of them, barely conscious and pale, "I don't know if we're saved or if we're screwed."

"That all depends on if they know who she is," Giles whispered.

The vampires had been holed up in an old School for quite some time. There were very few humans allowed to roam freely, only those loyal to them. The rest were kept in the gym and guarded around the clock. The guard has double after the first escape attempt Giles had made with Xander and Dawn and tripled after the second. They'd successfully gotten Dawn out along with two other girls but Dawn was recaptured, the other two escaped. There were ten others in there with them eleven now with Faith.

Xander and Giles quickly moved to pick Faith up off the floor and she smiled at them deliriously, "Hey guys,"

"Faith, I don't know if I'm happy to see you or concerned that you're here," Giles muttered helping her to the corner of the room they'd claimed and lowering her to the ground next to Dawn.

"Faith? Are you okay?" The girl's eyes were wide with concern but her eyes fell on the bite mark on her neck.

"Faith do they know? Does he know?" Xander asked lowly.

"About me? Nah they just think I'm another victim...I got a plan, I think, I'm gettin' y'all the hell outta here," She muttered quietly, "Wait? Who's he?"

"You don't know..." Giles stated flatly. He didn't elaborate only shook his head, "Did this ingenious plan involve massive blood loss?"

Faith eyed a vampire guard that walked passed them, the group grew silent as he passed. He didn't even bat an eye when Faith began to dry heave, then gag as if choking.

"Faith...Are you?...ew..." Xander frowned then blinked, "You swallowed that?"

On the floor laying in a clear yellow visceral fluid was a pink Bic lighter. The trio just stared at the object in a mixture of disgust and fascination.

"How on Earth...?" Giles started.

"No Gag reflex," Faith chuckled flopping her head against the wall and panting, her skin now clammy looking. Giles and Xander both stared at her and Dawn for a moment was still looking puzzled.

It was Giles who moved to grab it first, pulling a red bandana from his pocket he grabbed it and wrapped it around the lighter cleaning it off in the process, before slipping it in his pocket, just as another guard was making his away near them again. Giles feigned as if cleaning up her vomit from the shiny wooden floor.

"I mean that's all well and good but...what now?" Xander asked.

"Well that lighter's got to dry and I have to heal," Faith shrugged and leaned back against the wall, letting her eyes close, but then she spoke again, "Giles, Who's _he_?" she asked. 

Almost on cue the double doors of the Gym opened up and as Faith opened her eyes to see who came in a familiar figure stood in the doorway. His eyes stared directly at her and she couldn't do much more than stare back. 

"Hello Faith," the crisp clear British accent cut through the air. 

For all intents and purposes Wesley looked like himself. A little more casual and there was something overall dangerous in his gaze and posture. He was just, a lot more relaxed than he'd normally be. He wore a dark-colored perfectly tailored suit with a light blue shirt underneath and even a black silk tie. When he smiled, Faith knew she was fucked. 

"You, uh, you look good for bein' dead Wes," Faith said carefully. 

Another small, smug smile tugged at his pale features, "You look like shit," Wesley told her flatly. He gestured with his hands to two of the guards to retrieve her, "If she tries to fight, put a bullet in Dawn's throat." 

Faith felt like she _knew_ what was going to happen here, she knew what she'd done to Wesley while she was alive. She wasn't sure if she'd survive it, knowing Wesley she probably would. Faith was after all the last in the line of Slayers, if she died that would activate another. Wesley knew better, "I won't fight, there's no need for that," Faith said tiredly very slowly standing up. 

"Good," Wesley smiled again. 

There was something unnerving about his smile, that sent a cold shiver down Faith's spine. 

"Faith..." Xander started as he shifted to stand. 

"Xander, we've had an at length discussion about your disobedience before, it wouldn't be very prudent nor fruitful for you to try an intervene, now would it?" Wesley quirked an eyebrow. 

Xander's single eye bore into him, but he remained silent still he stood up and reached for Faith embracing her, and speaking to her quietly in her ear, "We'll get you out, don't let him break you, just let him think he has." 

His words only served to heighten her fear, but nonetheless, she didn't let it show on her face. She let him go and kissed him on the head, "It'll be okay," Faith said simply. 

"Harris," Wesley said sharply, the tone commanded obedience, and Xander responded in a manner only an ex-soldier would, even if his memories were false. His back went stiff and posture changed. 

After a moment Xander relaxed and lowered himself back into a sitting position as two vampires flanked Faith and she walked off with him. Giles was so quiet it was tangible, Dawn was crying softly, but her face had hardened, "We have to get out of here," Dawn said through gritted teeth. 

"Yeah Dawny, we do, and we will," Xander responded reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. He watched as Faith disappeared through the double doors with Wesley and his two goon. 

* * *

Rick paced in concern, Faith had been gone since Negan had spoken to her. He really wanted to know what the HELL he said to her to make her leave. Ashley and Shreya seemed as if they were hiding something and that wasn't sitting well with him either, "Did he threaten you or her in any kinda way?"

"No, it's nothing like that..." Shreya insisted, then cleared her throat, "I mean they were kinda...close...but she..." she stopped talking.

"She what?" Rick stopped in front of her.

"She didn't seem to mind it," Shreya said quickly deciding against telling him where Faith really went. Faith asked them not to. She supposed it would take her a little while to find the girl, "Maybe she's with him? Did you ask him?"

Rick tightened his jaw. He didn't WANT to ask Negan. If she was with him he wasn't sure he wanted to know, but if she wasn't...He's not stupid. He knows Negan seems to like her, and if she's NOT with him admitting he doesn't know where she is wasn't something he wanted to deal with, "No and we're not going to," he said tersely, "What aren't you two tellin' me?"

Shreya easily did most of the talking but Ashley refused to look at him, her eyes were in the floor. Ashley was always a bit more skittish, particularly around the men. Rick thought something must have happened to her before they got there. He wanted to question her alone perhaps he could get more information out of her, he'd feel bad about scaring her but worse if something happened to Faith because she kept quiet.

"Ashley, come over here and talk to me for a minute," Rick said after a moment, but he held up a hand when Shreya moved to go with her, "Just her."

The petite blonde teen looked up at him with wide terrified eyes but she cautiously approached him.

"Ashley I ain't gonna hurt you, but if ya know where Faith went, I need ya to tell me," Rick said gently.

Ashley just shook her head, "I don't know."

He didn't believe her. He couldn't do much more, he couldn't afford to send people to look for her without knowing where she went. Faith was an adult if she wanted to leave he couldn't stop her. He was curious as to how she did it without anyone seeing her.

At the seven-day mark, what Rick was concerned about happened. The Saviors were rolling in and Negan was of course with them. He'd been coming himself ever since Faith joined them. Funny how that worked...It did confirm she wasn't with them though when he got out and his eyes immediately narrowed. The last two times she hadn't been out there like normal, this made three.

Rick took a deep breath and spoke before he asked, "She's not here Negan," Rick tried to skate over the statement and added, "We've got your stuff."

"Well Rick, it's a DAMN good thing that you do, and we're gonna handle that," with a gesture of his hand his men spread out and Negan approached Rick, "Where's Faith Rick?" 

Rick's jaw tightened he didn't look at Negan, just straight ahead trying his damndest to hold his distaste in, "I haven't seen her since she last spoke to  _you,_ " He couldn't stop the accusatory tone that laced his words. 

Negan cracked his neck, "If I didn't know better I'd think you blamed me, and not the fact that you can't keep a handle on your people Rick," He was circling Rick now as if daring Rick to confirm that. 

"I was just stating a fact Negan," Rick tried to keep his voice calm, his eyes flicking to Negan from time to time, his hand resting near his hatchet. It was so tempting to grab it and bury it in the man. 

 

"And you didn't feel the need to come to me?" Negan's teeth ground and his gloved hand tightened on Lucille. 

"Why would I? She ain't one of yers," Rick said rather sharply. 

Negan laughed, then moved uncomfortably close to Rick "Is that what you think?" he said quietly, his mouth next to Rick's ear, "I think you know better than that don't you Rick?" 

Rick didn't respond, he just swallowed hard. He didn't say anything until Negan stepped back, "She's a grown woman Negan, if she wants to go off on her own, I can't stop her." 

Negan's eyes flashed but he didn't say anything, mostly because, in that respect, Rick was right. If she wanted to leave, Rick couldn't stop, hell, he couldn't stop her while she lived in Alexandria. That was something he intended to rectify as soon as he found her. His gaze cut to Rick, "Stay right here," he said sharply as he moved toward's Faith's house. The head of one of the teen girls could already be seen peeking out of the window but the curtains quickly shut when they saw him approach, he was surprised when the door opened before he got there. 

"Well hey Darlin'," Negan greeted the brown-skinned girl who stepped back to let him in, "You know why I'm here don't you?" 

The girl closed the door, just briefly catching Rick's eyes beforehand, then she turned to face Negan, "I'm worried about her too," she admitted. 

He moved into the living room and leaned on the back of the couch, the other blonde girl, Ashley, he remembered, was wrapped in a blanket in a large armchair. Her eyes were wide and she offered him a meek wave. Her eyes bounced between himself and the other girl. 

"What's your name?" Negan asked her. 

"Shreya," she told him. 

This girl was much bolder than the other, she looked him in the and much to her credit she didn't fidget. It took him a moment to realize the fear he saw in her was for Faith, "Shreya, Do you know where she went?" 

She bit her lip and drew in a breath then nodded, "Kind, I mean...I know why she left," she gestured with her hands trying to elaborate her meaning, so Negan let her talk, "Rick thinks it's because of you, but it wasn't, Faith rescued us you know..." she said with a small smile, "Where we were before was...we were kept like animals...all of the people there were, and there was a girl there, her name was Dawn, she had two men with her, and they tried to escape, took us with them but the men didn't even make it out, but they made sure we did, Dawn was... _is_ just a little older than us, and she helped us escape, but, she got caught and made sure we didn't. She taught us how to hide, and how to cover our scent, but eventually they caught us to, but fortune was with us because that's when we met Faith, she killed the men that tried to take us back, rather easily and she brought us here, and when we told her about Dawn, we were surprised to find that she knew Dawn, she said her name was Dawn Summers, we haven't been here long, just a few weeks, Faith wanted to go look for Dawn, so we told her as best as we could remember the way to get to the camp we were at, so many things happened though, it was a blur, and often we were hurt there, so recalling details is hard." 

Negan took in what the girl told her and nodded tapping Lucille against the ground considering how to proceed with this information when curiosity hit him, "Did you tell that to Rick?" 

She looked down and shook her head, "No." 

"Why?" 

"Because we don't trust Rick, but we trust Faith, and Faith seems to trust you in a way that she doesn't seem to trust Rick," Shreya explained then frowned as she felt like she needed to elaborate, "It's not that she doesn't trust Rick it's just..." she gestured as she tried to explain but no more words came. 

"She doesn't trust him as a leader," Ashley spoke up quietly from where she was bundled up. Now she was crying and hastily wiping tears away from her eyes. 

Negan nodded, "Well I don't blame her," Negan's words were terse and full of distaste, he focused back on Shreya and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but stopped when he saw fear in her eyes, "Easy Darlin', I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not  _that_ type of man, I'll tell you what, you tell me what you told Faith and I'll take some of my men and go look for her, when I find her, she's not staying here," he shook his head, "No matter what Rick thinks, you two are welcome to join her, it's your choice, not anyone else's, you will have to make yourselves useful, but I promise you as long as you follow the rules no one is going to hurt you." 

Shreya went to answer him a little taken aback by his offer but he shook his head, "You don't have to answer now, take your time, Right now, you just tell me what you told Faith." 

 


	4. Let that Motherfucker Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wesley is a psycho path, but a little fire solves a lot of problems, the gang makes their escape and once they return Negan is NOT happy with what he sees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, thank you so much for the sweet comment you have NO idea how big of a smile I had on my face, you guys are great, the next chapter will come out pretty quick to. Just a warning this Chapter gets dark. Thank you again guys the next chapter will be up pretty soon too guys and it will be longer than the last two.

"You were an amateur back then Faith, but don't worry I have a lot to teach you about torture and obedience," he'd whispered in her ear. 

She was floating, she scarcely registered what was happening to her body. She was scarcely there. She was aware but she didn't really feel it, sometimes, he did something to bring her awareness back to her body and that's when she started to fight him. That happened less and less as time went on. She couldn't even tell how long it had been. Days, weeks, months? She lost count. She didn't see anything but artificial light and he certainly didn't let her sleep much. 

This time it was the shrill sound of a fire alarm that brought her consciousness back. Just in time to be horrified about the position she was in. Her flesh was down her back, butt and legs were on fire, she could feel fresh blood oozing from wounds she couldn't quite recall how she got. Right now though she was on her knees in front of him and his hand was tangled in her hair, she heard him say something about earning a treat because she'd been so obedient. The fire alarm swallowed up most of his words making him freeze in place. 

_Why wasn't she fighting him?_

Her mind flashed back to the pinprick she'd felt in her neck, recalling the words he'd spoken to her,  _Do you know what this is? Right, you don't, had your first watcher not been brutally murdered you probably would, this is what's given to Slayers to render them temporarily human, if I recall correctly Buffy went through that trail and passed with flying colors, I suppose you're lucky, you probably would have died._

She started to panic as the memories her mind had separated her from started to flood back to her she struggled in his grasp but his grip tightened, "Faith, it is imperative your well being that you conduct yourself properly," his hand was still on his belt as if he was trying to decide if he should go check on that or let his men handle it. He never got to make that decision as the door to the classroom he was holding Faith in was kicked in. Giles stood in the doorway with a fire axe, and now with the door open, he could smell the smoke from the fire. 

"You sick fuck," Xander's voice came from behind Giles, but Giles didn't speak he just launched himself at Wesley. Xander moved to lift Faith up. Shock and then pain went through his eye as he went to loop his arm around her and she cried out in pain, he drew his hand back and found it wet with blood. Stepping around her he saw the wounds that tore the flesh down her back, buttocks, and thighs, her clothes were ripped through and consistent with the lashes that covered her pale skin. Laid out on what was once a teacher's desk was an old Roman style Cat a nine tails whip, complete with the metal barbs and bones. There was a knife, a propane torch, and a needle as well, his stomach rolled as he could tell what got the most use. 

He quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, "Faith can you stand?" he asked her. 

She looked back at where Wesley and Giles were now tussling, it seemed Wesley was getting the upper hand, so she lowered her head and shook it. 

Dawn was in utter shock. For her age she'd seen a lot, but, this...this was utterly horrifying. It utterly pissed her off. Rage consumed Dawn and she grabbed the propane torch from the desk, turning it on and flicking the electric flint, anger outweighing her fear of this new and sick Wesley, she snuck up behind him as he gloated above Giles, his hands around Giles's neck, she touched the flame to his hair and the product he'd used to keep it so neat went up in flames. He screamed and jumped off of Giles shouting obscenities at Dawn, "YOU BLOODY CUNT! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT," his hands batted at his hair to try and put out the flames but his hands caught fire as well. He tore off his coat and used the expensive thing to put out the flames by then he was too injured to continue fighting and he disappeared out of the second door. 

Giles was up gasping for air as he grabbed the axe, he was very tempted to go after him. He nearly did but Xander called out to him, "Giles, we have to get her out of here." 

He sighed heavily hoisting the axe of his shoulder and nodded. Xander was right. Funny thing about the end of the world. Xander had grown up even more so, but Giles had become so angry. It was the loss of Buffy that did it, he knew the moment he snapped was went Buffy and several of the young Slayers gave up their lives to stave off the initial outbreak so that people could escape. Seeing Wesley like this did nothing to quell that rage but only fueled it, and seeing what was more than likely the very last Slayer, seeing Faith like that, he saw only red. It was true Faith had done a lot of things in her life, but she didn't deserve this. 

"Grab her, Dawn and I will keep you covered," Giles had a gun tucked in his waistband that he'd taken off one of the vampires they'd killed. Dawn was armed with a sword taken from Wesley's personal collection. It was hard to see Dawn fighting, in Giles's mind she was twelve always, despite that fact that she was now seventeen.

The building was burning down and humans were escaping left and right. Giles was impressed with Dawn, she'd started the fire after she'd asked for a box of tampons and to be escorted to the restroom. They underestimated her and she'd used it to her advantage. He wasn't quite sure how she managed to get the fire started at more points in the school, he guessed that they were so distracted by the initial fire that she managed to escape and light some in other places. 

They couldn't help all the people, the least they could do was let them free and kill as many vampires as they could on their way to get Faith and on their way out. The rest was up to them. They fought their way out, Xander carried Faith out, her legs hooked around his waist and her arms around his neck, he looped one arm around her waist trying to avoid contact with the great majority of her wounds. He left the hand free that was on the same side as his good eye, the same side Dawn was on. In his free hand, he had a single-handed crossbow, also stolen from Wes. 

After while they worked their way out and into the city, it was daylight so the vampires wouldn't be able to follow, they'd have to be more concerned about putting out the fire. They had to clear the building, all the commotion would attract the Risen. The Zombies, the Walkers, whatever title people wanted to call them, they'd be there and cause more problems. 

Faith tiredly mumbled directions to them, she wasn't overly clear on where she was telling them to go but she was adamant and it wasn't as if they had any other direction to go in, so they listened. Only stopping to hand Faith off to Giles when Xander got tired, as the amount of blood she'd lost made her far too slow. 

* * *

Negan had his men searching for a week,  but when he started losing men, he knew he had to bring them back. He was rather surprised how much cutting his loss here actually hurt him. He was surprised at how attached he'd become to someone that wasn't even one of his people...technically. He was going to take that loss out of Rick's ass, that was for  _damn_ sure. 

The last team was coming back in, reporting to him that there was a fire at an old school and several people were seen running from it. They'd taken in several of them, questioning them. Only one of them reported that they'd seen anyone that matched Faith's description but they also reported that she was dead. 

Stories of alleged monsters holding them hostage and drinking their blood ran through all the survivors. Negan needed to have a chat with Shreya and Ashley again. Once again he was back in Alexandria, this time though, a sight greeted him he hadn't expected. People had gathered around and it was an older short-haired woman he thought was named Carol that was shouting for Rick. 

As Negan approached the crowd parted a little, Shreya had her arms around another young girl he hadn't seen before. It was Ashley that called out to Negan. Resting against a man that was about his own age was Faith but her gaze was a bit vacant and her skin was pale. A younger man was talking, "Look she needs Medical care, she's not doing so good." 

"Put her in my car, now," Negan spoke up. 

"Who are you?" The older man spoke up his accent very clearly English. 

"Someone that has a doctor and Medical equipment, put her in my goddamned car," he said tersely. The man started to bristle a little, it was Shreya that intervened. 

"It's okay Giles, he is a friend to her," she touched the man's arm seeming to calm whatever anger was building up in him. He nodded relenting. 

Negan nodded to the two men then looked at Shreya, "You know them?" 

"Yes, they're the men that also helped us, this is Giles and this one is Xander, and this is Dawn," She smiled looking it a bit nervous. 

"Negan, you can't make that decision for her," Carol spoke up crossing her arms, "She not in her right state of mind." 

Negan raised both eyebrows and was ready to tear into Carol but the British man Giles spoke up, "I am making that decision for her, you don't know me but I know Faith  _very_ well and have known her for a lot longer than any of you, I  _can_ make that decision for her, she's going where someone can properly treat her wounds, if anyone would like to contest that, you're more than welcome to try." 

Negan actually laughed, "Well then, let's get movin', Giles, you put her in the back seat, you sit in the front, and you darlin' Dawn was it,you sit in the back with Faith," but he paused and specified, "Behind him, and you...Xander, was it? If the girls are comin' you three get in the back of the truck." 

The one-eyed man tensed up, but Faith seeming to finally join the conversation spoke up, "Xander, it's cool just, do what he says." 

Rick was finally brought out his eyes widened as he realized what was going on, "Negan, you can't just..." he started. 

"You're ABSOLUTELY incorrect, I can and I am," Negan snapped, "Unless you think you're gonna come over here and stop me." 

"Rick...don't...it's okay," Faith muttered then frowned, "Wait...no...Rick I need to talk to you both, you're all in danger." 

Negan frowned a little and looked from Faith to Rick. Faith reached out and put a shaking hand on Negan's arm and his eyes dropped to it finding something a bit off he took her hand and she flinched a little, flipping it over he saw the palms of her hands were burnt as if she'd pressed them to a burner and his eyes flared with anger, "What the fuck happened?" he demanded. 

"With all due respect it's..." Giles started. 

"How come whenever someone says 'With all due respect' they mean fuck you?" Negan's eyes bored into Giles, to his credit he didn't look away but there was no hostility in his eyes either. 

"No, he's British, when he says it he means it," Xander snorted. 

"...I was simply going to inform you that the story was long and it would be better to have it elsewhere, but if Faith thinks you're all in danger, it's prudent that you listen, both of you..." he said carefully realizing by his demeanor and the armed men that stood ready to shoot at his beck and call that he wasn't someone to trifle with. 

Negan thought for a moment then looked from Faith who looked too tired to argue but didn't disagree with the other man, then to Rick, "Rick...get in the goddamned truck with them," he said sharply, "I'm not asking." 

Rick's eyes steeled and after a moment he relented, but Carl quickly moved to his side, "Dad if you're going I am too," he said firmly. 

Negan didn't care one way or another if Carl joined them so he dismissed it with a wave and said simply, "Hurry the fuck up, Rick." 

He climbed in the driver's seat as Giles helped Faith into the back and Dawn crawled in behind her. Faith immediately flopped over laying her head in Dawn's lap, Dawn responded by simply running her hand through Faith's hair soothingly. Giles got in the passenger seat buckling his seat belt and Negan silently started the car. 

Rick and whom Xander assumed was his son argued for a minute, the armed men that were with the truck were growing impatient. Xander spoke up, "Hey, My friend, Faith, she's actually has a lot of open wounds under that jacket, and I'd like to see her sometime soon, so if you guys could kindly...hurry up...I'd really appreciate that." 

Both Rick and Carl stared at him, but Carl took this time to climb into the back of the truck, "Well come on you heard him, we don't have time to argue." 

Rick drew in a breath and gritted his teeth but relented finally and climbed in, the other man and the two girls climbed in with him. 

It was dark in the back but one of The Saviors reached up and clicked on the light. Benches lined the back in a very similar manner to a Military personnel carrier. Immediately when the truck started Rick looked to Xander, "What the hell happened to her?" 

"Some fucked up shit that I don't think should be talked about in current company," Xander said carefully nodding his head to the teens. 

"We've already seen fucked up shit Xander, What happened to Faith?" Shreya demanded. 

"...Wesley had a grudge..." Xander said simply. 

"Oh...God..." Ashley's hands went to her mouth. 

They knew Wesley was a sadistic bastard, they didn't know their history with him but they knew there was one.

"Wait, wait, Who's Wesley?" Rick asked frowning. 

"Wesley is in charge of the group Faith helped rescue us from," Shreya exclaimed her eyes showing the same concern and fear as Ashley's. 

"We knew Wesley before, he and Faith had a...strained relationship, to say the least, he's turned into a monster now," Xander said trying to be vague about it. 

"Is he still alive?" Rick asked. 

"Dawn lit him on fire but, yeah, he's...still kicking, unless he burned to death when the building burned down...which she  _also_ lit on fire...she's really good at lighting things on fire," Xander said absently. 

"He won't be alive long when Negan gets a hold of him," Rick snorted. 

"What's with that guy anyway?" Xander asked. 

"Negan? He's...well..." Rick looked over at the three Savior's in the back with them, "Well you'll see, yer probably gonna want to make sure you do what he says, the results ain't gonna be pretty if you don't." 

"Wonderful," Xander replied tersely. 


	5. Ripped at every edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Negan and Rick have to try to come to terms that their world is once again changing to include more horrifying creatures, Faith is trying to come to terms with her trauma and as memories flood her she find comfort in the one person most everyone else fears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are great thank you for your support and thanks for reading, I appreciate all your comments, there is some description of torture in here so be warned, thanks again!

"If you come near me I will jam this into my fucking throat!" Faith had a scalpel pressed to her Carotid artery. 

"Okay, Okay, I won't just please put down that scalpel and talk to me, I only want to help you," Dr. Carson told her holding up his hands and speaking very calmly. 

She didn't hear him, only Wesley's mocking laughter,  _You won't do it Faith, you're a coward, you always have been, I'll tell you what, you give me that now and at any point if you'd like to kill yourself you let me know and I'll give it back to you, that's fair isn't it?_

"Faith, Faith _**please**_ , he has to clean the wounds," Dawn was pleading with her but the words seemed to fall on deaf ears. 

 _Such a pretty girl, I always thought it a shame that you were such an absolute trollop._  She squeezed her eyes shut trying to will his voice away, she could feel her back burning almost as if the wounds were new. 

" _ **Faith**_!" A sharp tone cut through to her and her eyes focused back in on the present. Negan was staring at her with his head tilted in the side in confusion, anger was evident on his face but it only hid the concern. 

"I had her sedated, I was trying to clean the wounds which I was able to do for about fifteen minutes and then suddenly she flipped out, I'm guessing Post Traumatic stress she didn't seem to acknowledge myself or Ms. Summers," Dr. Carson explained. 

Giles and Xander had crammed in the room behind him, at first trying to tell Negan it was a situation that had to be handled more delicately and shouting at her wouldn't work. Apparently, they were wrong, so both had fallen silent in surprise. 

Negan thought for a moment he nodded his head towards the door, "Everyone get out, now." 

"We know her maybe one of us should..." Xander started. 

"I said get OUT!" Negan said turned sharply to stare at the boy. 

Dawn stood up promptly and headed for the door not about to argue with him, so far he hadn't done anything that would suggest he'd hurt Faith. She helped usher the two very reluctant men out and Dr. Carson followed shaking his head, "That sedative should have at least given me a few hours to work." 

"Not on Faith, she's...different," Giles told him, he guessed the drug Wesley fed her had worn off then. 

Negan sat down on the chair next to her bed and he held out his hand, "Give me the scalpel Faith," he said quietly. 

Her hands were shaking as she complied dropping it into his hand. She winced as she moved, every movement pulled or squished the damaged flesh. She didn't say anything but after a moment she shifted and flopped forward so she lay on her stomach, it was the only way she could exist that didn't irritate her wounds. 

It was the first time Negan saw the extent of the damage. She wore a hospital gown that was loosely tied and Negan now saw why. His eyebrows deeply furrowed and anger rose up in him, he stood up to get a better look. The deep furrows and lashes crisscrossed all the way down to the backs of her calves even at the backs of her heels. He reached out and pushed her hair behind her ear, "What happened Faith?" 

A tear slid down her face and her reply came after a brief silence, "Nothing I didn't deserve, I tortured him first," she admitted. 

"I didn't ask that, I asked you what happened, What'd I tell you about giving me vague bullshit for an answer?" Negan said quietly, still running his hand soothingly through her hair, he lowered himself back to his seat. 

She drew in a breath and sighed, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." 

"Yeah, that's what the Brit said and he was right, one-eyed asshole confirmed it, the girls confirmed it and I'm still havin' trouble processing it, so you tell me," Negan replied. 

"Where did Giles start? Did he start with the 'One girl in all the world' speech," Faith frowned. 

Negan snorted, "Yeah, he did." 

She let own a small bit of laughter and thoughtlessly she started to shift to her side so she could look at him better when she spoke to him but the intense burning pain quickly made her flop back on her stomach. 

"Easy girl," Negan said lowly. 

* * *

Xander paced waiting, the waiting was going to drive him insane. Giles sat perfectly still with his eyes closed just waiting. Dawn tapped her foot ceaselessly. Dr. Carson looked just as agitated as Xander. 

"Those wounds need to be cleaned, the longer we wait, the more likely it is that infection will set in," he muttered. 

"Well, by all means, go in and tell them that," Giles told him without opening his eyes. 

Dr. Carson bristled and instead asked, "What happened to her?" 

"A very sick individual on an ego trip had a whip and a serious grudge with Faith," Giles said simply. 

"The burns...she was tortured..." The Doctor sighed. 

"Clearly," Giles said irritably. 

When the door opened and Negan appeared, the look on his face wasn't one Dr. Carson had seen. There was a certain rage in him that terrified him, he gestured for him to come back into the room, "Someone, go get Rick. Now." 

The door shut back and Xander was left staring at Giles and Dawn as the Doctor followed Negan inside. 

"Was he talking to us?" Xander huffed, "He is aware we don't work for him right?" 

"I don't think he is, go march right in there and tell him," Giles said raising his eyebrows. 

"I'll go get Rick..." Xander dipped his head. 

Dawn's eyes fell on Giles and she was quiet for a moment before speaking up quietly, "You're scared..." 

"I'm not..." he started but sighed then nodded, "...I'm afraid we're in another position we don't want to be in, just look around and watch how people react to their leader, watch how Rick reacts to him, and I don't think Faith is in the proper frame of mind for us to discuss it with her." 

Dawn nodded a little, "He seems to care about Faith, that's something," Dawn said with a bit of a smile trying to look at the glass half full, then she snorted, "And I think as long as they're not trying to eat us, we might be okay." 

Giles let out a short bark of laughter and peered at her thoughtfully, "Perhaps you're right, anything has to be better than where we were, I suppose we can figure the rest out later." 

"Yeah," Dawn nodded, her head turning as Xander returned with Rick and his son. 

"Hey...you know if we stand side by side we have depth perception?" Xander was telling the young boy gesturing to his own missing eye, then to his. 

For a moment Rick turned to stare at him, but to his surprise, Carl laughed, "We'd have to stand really close," Carl commented as they joined them. He eyed Xander a moment then dipped his head, "How did you lose yours?" 

"A psychotic preacher put his thumb through my eye," Xander shuddered as he remembered Caleb, "Not an overall good day." 

"Wow...that's...Are you serious?" Carl looked incredulous. 

"The end of the world makes people do crazy things Carl you know that," Rick said still giving Xander an odd look. 

"Oh no, this was before all this," Xander told him. 

"What? Boy, What the hell were you doing BEFORE this?" Rick asked him. 

Xander simply let out a bit of bitter laughter, they'd tried to explain to Rick and Negan what was going on, neither seemed to believe it, so he looked back to Carl "So How about you?" 

"A bullet," Carl swallowed with a nod. 

"Well on the plus side, the ladies love it...all the lady corpses have been trying to get a bite out of me," Xander quipped. 

Carl stared at him for a long time before he cracked a smile again and shook his head. 

"That's Xander, always the comic relief in awkward situations," Dawn spoke up. 

"Yeah, if he ain't careful around here it could get him killed," Rick said tersely. 

Carl cleared his throat, "Yeah, Negan's not really one to... _screw_ with." 

Xander snorted, "Neither was the guy who put his thumb in my eye, I've been the comic relief in the face of people who could easily kill me since I was in high school, I doubt I'll stop now." 

Giles snorted, "He's not wrong, I often wonder how he's survived this long." 

"How often were you around people that'd kill you?" Carl snorted. 

"Oh...you'd be surprised..." Xander chuckled. 

* * *

"Okay Faith, I can give you a local Anesthetic while I clean the wounds, you won't feel a thing," Dr. Carson told her as he moved over to pick up a needle. 

Faith shook her head, "Don't inject me with anything," she said firmly. 

"Okay...no Needles...you do understand this is going to be extremely painful..." he started, but she cut him off.

"Well then it'll be a new experience I have _no_ idea what pain feels like," Faith narrowed her eyes. 

"Easy, he's doing his job, Faith," Negan told her gently. 

She relaxed a little and slumped, "Just do it, _please_ ," she pleaded in a weak voice. 

The anger in Negan skyrocketed the fact that anyone broke down this ballsy ass woman, to the terrified mess laying in the room with him was absolutely unforgivable and so help him a lot of people were going to die for this. Someone needed to answer for it. His fist clenched at his side, he needed to step out. As he shifted to leave, her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. 

"Don't leave." 

With a heavy sigh he lowered himself back down into the chair and she shifted her grip on him to grab his hand. Instinctively his hand interlaced with hers, he couldn't help but wonder how he got to this point here. He couldn't help but think he should have taken her from Rick some time ago and maybe this wouldn't have happened. 

"Okay Faith just remember to breath and relax as best you can, stay with us," Dr. Carson told her. 

* * *

Giles's eyes shot open when he heard her scream. His eyes focused intently on the door and his foot bounced. Up and down, Rick's eyes also turned to the door but after that, it was quiet again. 

After a moment of silence Rick frowned, "Did Negan say what he wanted?" 

"Nope, he just walked out and started making demands like..." Xander started but the door opened again and Negan stood in the doorway glaring daggers at Xander. 

"Are we gonna have a problem boy?" Negan asked with none of his normal smug humor that would be attached to a statement like that. 

Xander winced a little, "Maybe later...but most definitely not now," he said honestly, "Now isn't the time for problems." 

"You're damn right, it isn't," Negan said sharply, though he could say he did appreciate the boy's blunt honesty, even if it was gonna get the shit kicked out of him eventually. 

"Rick, Giles step inside we gotta have a chat," Negan said calmly. 

Carl shifted to go with his father but Rick held out his hand, "Just stay here." 

Xander, however, did slip his way inside with them, the look he got from Negan was scathing but he stood his ground, but still chose to remain in the corner near the door. Smartly though, he made an active decision to remain silent unless he was addressed.

Inside the room, Faith was bandaged up and had a light sheet draped over her. She shifted to prop herself up on her elbows so she could look at them better. After a moment she scooted herself to the edge of the bed and tossed her feet to the side forcing herself to stand albeit very stiffly. 

"Faith..." Negan started. 

"I'm good, laying back down is going to be a challenge, but I'm good," she said through gritted teeth as she was trying to readjust to the pain, "Um...Rick..." 

"If yer gonna try and feed me that 'Vampire' story again..." Rick started. 

Faith sighed then pushed her hair away from her neck, pulling off the bandage to show him the bite mark before recovering it. She pulled off a bandage on her wrist to show him another bite mark, "I've got two more on my thighs you wanna see those too?" 

"You already have corpses up and walking, why is another kind of walking Corpse so hard for you to accept?" Giles demanded. 

Faith waved him off, "Fine, but suspend your disbelief for a moment and just fuckin' listen," she looked to Giles, "Do you know who sired Wesley?" 

"No he didn't mention it," Giles frowned. 

"Angelus..." she told him, "Wesley isn't working alone, that wasn't the only place...and Angelus and Wesley aren't working alone either, they want to launch a full-scale attack and take over all the human communities, they want humans to be like cattle, breed them, feed off of them keep them in captivity use them for labor." 

"Of course he's smug enough to tell you that," Giles rolled his eyes.

"Over my dead body," Rick narrowed his eyes. 

At least Negan and Rick could agree on one thing. 

"Wesley said that Wolfram and Hart was backing them, they're trying to find a way to blot out the sun and if they do that...we're all fucked, daylight is your only salvation right now, vampires burst into flames in direct sunlight," Faith paced a little, "It's gonna become real important for everyone to learn how to fight vampires and it's gonna become REAL important for everyone to work together, you guys can go back to hating each other later, right now you've got more important shit because NONE of you want them to win...trust me...if you think you do you can take a look at the hamburger meat that is my back and then take in the fact that Angelus...Angelus is much worse." 

Negan was quiet taking this in before he spoke, "Can you prove it?" 

"Would going out and grabbing a vamp help?" Faith asked him. 

"A hell of a lot, but you ain't doin' shit right now," Negan said tersely. 

"Gimme a week," Faith said with a light shrug, "You gather all the leaders together in a week, we'll bring the vamps, it'll be a fuckin' party, we'll use it as a learning tool, it's going to be important that the leaders become experts here." 

"Can I shoot them?" Rick asked. 

"Only if you use a shotgun, A fifty caliber will do it, maybe even a forty-four, there are a few sniper rounds that'll do it, if you're going to shoot them you want to make sure you take the head off, it's not like the Walkers, destroying the brain won't do it, you want to completely separate the head from the body," Xander spoke up, "If a wooden bullet could actually penetrate a human body that would be perfect, however, you're most likely going to annoy them, if you're aiming for the heart, and you want distance, crossbows or bow and arrows are going to be your best bet, wooden arrows or at least wooden tipped arrows." 

  
"Um...alright then," Rick blinked, a little surprised at Xander's knowledge.

"You're gonna want a lot of mirrors, set them up in various places outside, Vampires don't have a reflection so if anyone tries to sneak in you'll know, they can be people you know and trust," Faith told him, "Vampires don't have pulses, and they can't be out in the sunlight, crosses, holy water, bibles those will burn them, a wooden stake to the heart, decapitation, ingestion of holy water, all those will kill them, they can't come in someone's house unless you invite them verbally, so I'd stop doing that, just step back, don't verbally invite them in." 

"Regardless if you don't believe it, until we can offer you proof, it's better safe than sorry, though I think we've temporarily weakened them for the moment, we may have bought ourselves some time, if Wolfram and Hart is involved...we can't kill Angelus...we'll need Angel," Giles said with a sigh. 

"Wait, what now?" Negan frowned. 

"So, as a rule, all vampires are basically evil walking corpses, they don't have a soul, there's a demon reanimating it they have all the same memories and personality of the person they once were they're just darker...how dark...varies from vampire to vampire, some are complete and utter psychopaths and some are no more evil that the villains on Ninja turtles who wanted to rid the world of pizza, but in the end they all eat people," Faith paused, "BUT there are two exceptions, the first one, was Angel, he was cursed with a soul, doesn't sound like a curse until you consider for about a century he was one of the worst vampires in existence, and then suddenly he had a conscience, Angel is a good guy, Angelus is his soulless counterpart and then there's Spike, Spike actually went out and got his own soul, Spike, might actually help either way, just without a soul you've got to keep an extra eye on him because he might try to munch on someone." 

"It would be good to see if we can find Spike as well, also...Willow..." Giles swallowed, "We got separated in the initial outbreak but from time to time I have dreams of her...Willow's a very powerful and talented witch, we'll need her to replace Angel's soul, Angel knows the most about Wolfram and Hart, it will be imperative that we have him on our side." 

"Fuck," Negan cursed shaking his head, he still had _more_ questions, like who was Wolfram and Hart, but he was still trying to come to terms with everything else "You're sayin' a lot of shit right now..." 

"I know it's a lot to take in Negan, that's why I didn't tell anyone earlier, I thought if I could fight them off on my own, no one would have to know," Faith said quietly, "Sorry this all has to be dropped on you guys now." 

Rick seemed to be in deep thought. He could hardly believe it, he DIDN'T believe it but if it was true, he couldn't take the chance of his people being in danger like that, he looked over at Negan for a moment then back at Faith. 

"Giles, maybe Xander should go back with Rick, at least help them get better fortified, maybe have The Padre start blessing water, consecrate the ground, start carving wooden stakes, just give them the basics just in case," Faith suggested, "Then tomorrow send Father Gabriel over we'll need holy water." 

"You're not coming back," Rick said quietly. 

Faith looked down and Negan just stared at him. The look quite plainly read, 'the fuck did you think?' it was so clear in his look he might as well have said it out loud. Giles cleared his throat awkwardly, "I, um, don't think now is the time to have that conversation, people are in danger and she quite clearly will need proper medical care and mental support, if you are ill-equipped to offer that, then it would do her more harm than good to try and guilt her into going back with you." 

"I wasn't trying to guilt her..." Rick's jaw tightened, "I'll have Maggie send yer stuff." 

"Rick I'm Sorry," Faith ran a hand through her hair. 

"You don't owe him an apology," Negan said sharply then nodded to the door, "Go handle your shit Rick, we'll talk later." 

Rick gave Negan as rather scathing look, and Negan stared back at him, "Watch how you're lookin' at me Rick," he warned. 

"You're people could be getting slaughtered as we speak but you want to stare him down, you don't have time for that and neither does he," Giles said sharply. 

With that Rick was out the door and Giles was behind him to explain to Dawn what was going to happen, Xander gave one last look to Faith before he left as well. As soon as they were gone Faith turned back to the bed then shook her head, "I can't stay in here..." 

"Then you won't, Doc, give me painkillers and I'll send her back for you to change her bandages tomorrow," Negan told him. Dr. Carson complied as Negan took the sheet that had been draped over her earlier and wrapped it around her, "Come on, darlin'." 

"Here, Painkillers and Antibiotics, try not to move around too much, I wouldn't shower tonight but if you want to shower in the morning, I wouldn't wait for me to change the bandages, you'll need to replace them right away chances are they'll start to bleed again," he told Faith handing her a small care package, "And um, if you...well...these will help you sleep." 

\--

There wasn't much of a thought or debate in his mind when Negan put Faith in his own bed and gave her some of his own clothes. He didn't generally have any woman in his own bed, in their beds and various other places throughout the Sanctuary, but not in his bed in his room. Yet, the thought never crossed his mind that she'd sleep anywhere else. 

"You take those pills and you get some rest, Me and Giles got a few things to take care of around here, I'll be back," he told her. 

She dumped the first two pills into her hand but side eyed the sleeping pills and set it aside she swallowed the painkiller and the antibiotic down with a glass of water before Negan all but put her in his bed and wrapped a fluffy comforter around her. 

Even without the sleeping pill she fell asleep a lot quicker than she would have guessed. The exhaustion of the past few days...weeks? She hadn't even asked them how long she'd been there. It was all catching up to her. 

His voice haunted her dreams. All of the things she didn't remember came back to her in her sleep. 

_She watched almost numbly as he took the propane torch to an iron bar he bolted into the wall. She already wasn't fully there, as it didn't dawn on her what he'd intended until he stepped back, "Grab the bar Faith."_

_She shook her, "Oh fuck you," it was early on while she still had some spark left in her. He hadn't turned off the propane torch, his hand shot out and grabbed her by the hair, the torch was right next to her face she could feel the heat all too close to her eye._

_"I think you might want to reconsider doing exactly as you're told, grab the bar or I'll remove your eye with the torch instead, your choice," Wesley said calmly._

_At first she'd tried to fight him, but the drug coursing through her system that weakened her made it futile. He waited patiently waiting for her to make the choice, even letting her go to heat the metal bar back up again, "Three seconds or I'll make the choice for you..."_

_"Okay...okay...I'll do it," Faith had said quickly. She stared at the bar that was just above waist level still glowing hot._

_"You're hesitating, that is also unacceptable Faith, either do it now or lose an eye," Wesley told her rather calmly._

_Faith steeled herself and grabbed the hot metal, her screams nearly damaged her vocal cords._

Faith bolted upright still screaming and flailing in the darkness, her back and legs were on fire. 

"Come here darlin', I didn't mean to scare you," Negan's voice spoke from the corner of the room where he was kicking off his boots, but he crossed the room to wrap his arms around her. Realizing his error as he felt his arm touch the bandages under her shirt he drew back and cupped the back of her head instead, pulling her against him. 

For a moment she laid her head against him trembling softly before she drew away, "You didn't scare me I just..." her voice trailed off and she stared down at her hands. The burn marks were already healing, the skin had peeled away and new pink skin was already growing, soon there'd be no sign of any sort of scarring. She sat back down on the edge of the bed and drew in slow deep breaths. 

Negan tugged off his shirt and kicked off his pants without a second thought and crawled into the bed, and Faith automatically laid her head on him, "Faith, you're safe here, and I will be GOD damned if anyone hurts you like this again, but you've gotta trust me enough to tell me everything," he told her with a sigh brushing his hand through her hair, "You could have come to me in the first place." 

"I didn't want anyone else hurt," she muttered, "Killing vampires, that's my job, but Wesley...that was punishment for torturing him when he was human...I was...I went through a phase after I accidentally killed someone, I wanted to die and I thought Angel would kill him if I tortured Wesley, I had my own issue with Wesley but he didn't deserve what I did to him." 

"Neither did you," He said shortly. 

"Negan..." she started. 

"Go to sleep," he replied cutting her off tangling his hand in her hair and massaging her scalp, she went limp against him relaxing and after a few minutes exhaustion took back over and she fell back asleep.


End file.
